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Published: March 9th 2012
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I know that this is a really late post on the floods in Bangkok but I had written down these notes about what I saw during my second experience through the flood and really feel that they should be shared. It was on our overnight bus trip to and from Chiang Mai that I was able to see more of the flood damage to the northern outskirts of Bangkok. We had received an extra week off because the government announced that the flood water would be pushed through our city to be released into the gulf. As we left our city, every where you looked people and businesses were preparing for the worst. Cement walls were popping up everywhere around building entrances and sandbags laid out everywhere. You could purchase huge kayaks and flotation vests on every corner. Every convenience store and grocery store were bare with food and supplies. We were so happy to have the opportunity to leave because we would not have been able to survive with such little resources available to us, seeing that we had no way to store food in our apartments.
On the highway just on the outskirts of Bangkok all
you could see were cars parked and stranded along either side. People were literally living out of their vehicles. People who owned trucks had mosquito tents on the beds of their trucks where they would sleep at night. Some food stalls were open for business along the highway as well. Some people had tents on roofs of the buildings and you could see people kayaking on the flooded streets. Some people even ventured to walk through the flooded streets pushing through waist high waters. The parking garages were jam packed with cars to the point where the first car parked could not leave until the ones behind it were out of the way. The cars that did not get saved were buried in the water with the water level up to the windows. Some cars in certain areas were even completely immersed. We even passed a small airport and there you could see the planes were stranded in flood water as well. The flood water had been stagnant for over a month and reports were starting to show there was high possibilities for water borne diseases. This was easy to believe due to all the massive trash buildup all over
in the water and the high risk of mosquitos. Among all the natural disaster we even saw a looted 7-11 along the way. I hate to think how many people took advantage of this horrible situation. The flood not only affected people in the Bangkok area, but anyone who needed supplies sent from Bangkok. This lovely lady who owns a delicious Indian restaurant explained to us how much her business up in Chiang Mai was being affected by the floods because she couldn't get the necessary supplies.
The floods have long been done and a thing in the past. It's marks are still on the buildings and the hearts of the people it affected and Thailand suffered a huge cost to recover from this disaster. I pray that the next rain season will not repeat history as this was the worst flood Thailand has seen in over 50 years.
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